A note on the usage of sawdust in ANFO for optimal blasting in limestone mines at a reduced cost

摘要

(This note is a brief compilation of the paper entitled "An economic way of conducting optimum blasts in limestone mines" which was submitted for publication in The Mining Engineering Journal, USA. Reproduction of this brief note may help the Indian limestone mining industry in a greater way).Scientific investigations were carried out to substantiate the usage of sawdust as an additive in conventional ammonium nitrate and fuel oil mixture to reduce the blasting cost to a reasonable level without sacrificing fragmentation, much profile and wall control.Sawdust lowers the detonation pressure of ANFO to a tolerable level and acts as a low-grade fuel which reacts or burns more slowly in the presence of ammonium nitrate than does fuel oil. The mixture is also poorly oxygen-balanced. It forms a stable homogeneous mixture with much lower forms a stable homogeneous mixture with much lower density and thereby the loading density reduces reasonably.Recent experiments supported by scientific explanations make evident its possible acceptance in the competitive market withease and confidence.